Funding, Grants & Awards

Rural Education Program Seeks Nominees for STEM Grant

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 01/12/18

Nominations are now open for the America's Farmers Grow Rural Education grant program.

Sponsored by Monsanto, the program asks farmers to nominate a local public school for the opportunity to win a $10,000 or $25,000 grant to support STEM education. Nominations will be open through April 2. Upon nomination, schools will be notified by Monsanto and will then have until April 15 to develop and submit a grant proposal detailing their project. An advisory council of leaders in the farming community will then choose the winning schools.

Vic Worthington, a science teacher at Rochelle Middle School, previously won a $25,000 grant through the program and used a portion of the funds to build a 3D printer and then spent a year researching, designing and building a prosthetic arm for a local farmer.

"Winning an America's Farmers Grow Rural Education grant gave my students a lesson that they will remember for a lifetime," said Worthington in a prepared statement. "When word spread about what our students were building, we had countless people in the community and even an engineer from Ohio pitch in to make this project a reality."

"Whether students plan to enroll in college or find a job after high school, it is important for them to have a STEM foundation," said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president, in a news release. "Grow Rural Education provides farmers with a way to give back, and farmers that have nominated grant-winning districts are thrilled to see how $10,000 and $25,000 grants can transform a classroom."

For more information, or to nominate a school, visit americasfarmers.com.